Hong Kong jinx strikes Gregory Gaultier again
The 34-year-old Frenchman is beaten by Egypt’s Marwan Elshorbagy as the Hong Kong trophy continue to elude him after years of trying
Gregory Gaultier’s Hong Kong jinx continued on Friday when the world number one crashed out of the Cathay Pacific Sun Hung Kai Financial Hong Kong Open in the quarter-finals.
The 34-year-old Frenchman’s impressive resume includes major titles at world and British Opens but Hong Kong remains an elusive title. That became apparent when the reigning British Open champion was beaten 3-1 by Egypt’s Marwan Elshorbagy, ending another year without the trophy he has been hoping to lift for years.
Hong Kong has never been a happy hunting ground for Gaultier as he failed to live up to his ranking again as the US$305,000 tournament moved into the glass court at Hong Kong Park Sports Centre.
“I didn’t play well and did not perform here,” said the disappointing Frenchman, who lost 11-8, 11-8, 7-11, 11-6 to Elshorbagy.
Gaultier reached the Hong Kong Open final five times before – the last time in 2014 when he was beaten by Mohamed Elshorbagy, the older brother of Marwan, who beat Gaultier in the state-of-the-art venue.